The atmosphere and setting was great. The grounding for my recovery was set here and I am still clean today.

From the moment of walking in, scared and afraid, to walking out into a brand new life with confidence .... they take you apart to show you how to fix yourself to bring yourself back into being the best possible version of yourself with holistic approaches and tough love. If you are prepared to put in the work and dig deep into your guts .... the results are proof enough .... it works .... but if you are not prepared to be 150% brutally honest ... dont even bother attempting, they will see through you straight away ....

The house is amazing, you have bright and airy bedrooms which are spacious and luxurious, a home away from home. They give you a good schedule to work from on a daily basis with multiple activities that need to be done on a daily basis. One of the best things I got from this was, actually getting back into a proper routine, taking the time to do work on myself and not feeling guilty.

The next other best thing about Bethesda .... the food .... homecooked meals especially designed to keep you healthy and get your body back into the routine of a healthy balanced diet of regular meals which are made with love from their own amazing Chef.

The final best thing I have on the house .... is the team that works there .... every single one of them from the moment you walk in to the moment you leave, are encouraging, supportive, hard and loving. You are never alone, you are never judged, most of them have been in that dark place that we all never want to talk about, but they know it and they pull it out of you in a way that is amazing and once you have that release ... wow ... only from strength to strength you go, building yourself back up again.

Excellent counclers, perfect suited therapy. Family-setting with plenty individual care/therapy. Group therapy well organized and monitored. Individual assignments on a personal and profesinal skill well performed and treated. Well trained counslers who perfectly understand the mind and doing of a struggling addict. Perfect place with a perfect treatment

I appreciate the fact that I was treated with respect and dignity without watering down the seriousness of addiction and equipping me with all the knowledge that I'll need to fight this disease for the rest of my life. The treatment centre is situated in one of the most beautiful locations in South Africa if not the world and the centre has a homely atmosphere and helped me to embrace the treatment offered because it didn't feel 24/7 if you were in a treatment centre

I was not sure what to expect but I knew I would not survive one more day in active addiction. The 1st person I met on arrival was John who checked me in. He was very kind & warm & made me feel welcome. Next I met the other clients who showed me around & explained how everything worked.

The best rehab i ever been to .

Sixth sense type a guy

The food super tes is the cook a warm casting person

What I enjoyed most about Bethesda was that I felt safe and cared for. The small groups is great because no one fall through the cracks. I've learned so much living in a house environment with other people who fought the same struggles than me. For the first time in my life I got a honest and objective opinion without feeling judged. Through rediscovering myself, my worth and my values, it generated feelings inside me, to truely wanted to change.

The food is amazing!

When asked the question what it is the team at Bethesda did for me, and more specifically what impact they had on me and my addiction, one answer comes to mind: They saved my life.

This statement might come across as an exaggeration to someone who is not familiar with the problem of addiction, and I have to admit that I myself would’ve rolled my eyes if I would have heard such statement 6 months ago. But it’s the truth. And helping me realize (or come to terms with) that truth was the first thing the counselors at Bethesda did. A truth that I had been minimizing, ignoring & sugarcoating for the larger part of the 15 years prior to my trip to Plettenberg, South Africa: that my addiction was going to kill me, but not before destroying everything & everyone close to me. And that there was nothing I could do about it unless I became willing to turn my life around drastically.

I came to rehab (like a lot of people do), convinced that I just had a problem with drugs (cocaine & weed to be precise) and that if I could learn how not to give in to the cravings to use those substances, my life would automatically restore itself and all would be well. I had lost count of how many times I had tried quitting on my own, always relapsing after several weeks or months. I kept coming up with new excuses about why it didn’t work out this time and how next time would be different. A vicious and destructive cycle that brought me to the point where I simply did not know what to do anymore and was ready to have someone else tell me what to do and how to do it. Until this day I am grateful that that ‘someone else’ turned out to be Colin and his team. The people who taught me that getting clean is about so much more than ‘not using drugs’. That in order to get clean there is only one thing you need to change, and that’s everything.

I find it hard to put into words what it is I actually ‘discovered’ at Bethesda. Mostly because it isn’t just one thing…it’s countless things that, when seen together, made my encounter with Colin & his team the start of a new life. A new me. A second reason why describing how I got clean is a little weird is because I am only nine months clean & in recovery when writing this and have learned that being humble is a vital part of staying clean. So, acting as if now all of a sudden I am ‘Captain Recovery’ feels a little off.

Therefore, instead of explaining in detail how Colin and the counselors were able to help me change my perspective on my addiction, on myself and on my life, I have tried to summarize the most essential elements that, for me personally, made them the perfect companions in the journey that is recovery.

First and foremost, they held up a mirror in which I could see ‘the real me’, a person I hadn’t seen in years. During my active addiction I had become so used to lying and deceiving everyone (including myself) that I had lost track of who I really was. I had grown used to adapting myself into whatever person I needed to be to get my way, and coming into Bethesda this was no different. Subconsciously I was holding up masks to make people (and, I can’t stress this enough, myself included) see me, how I wanted them to see me. In this case: the perfect recovering addict who had everyone best interests at heart.

Colin and the counselors filtered right through this bullshit and made it clear that they were not interested in the ‘fake me’. That they couldn’t help me if I kept up my defences. They showed me the value of being my true self, of getting in touch with the broken & scared little boy that was hidden away behind the overconfident & people-pleasing guy I had become over the years. They acknowledged how scary it is to truly be yourself, but at same time how valuable it is. How much happiness it brings over time. And how free it makes you feel. Free as opposed to the trapped feeling of being an addict.

All of the above, they didn’t just teach me, they showed me. Because they were their true selves, on a regular basis. They spoke from experience instead of from textbooks and they did not only profoundly study addiction, and more importantly how to recover from it: they lived it.

Last but not least Colin and his team created a place in which it was perfectly ok to be myself, even the worst possible version. I’m not talking about the literal physical place that is Bethesda, the building, the rooms, the courtyard… It’s the atmosphere of thrust. The feeling that within those walls there is no judgement, and anything can be talked about without being afraid of how others will react. The level of honesty & open-mindedness I witnessed shocked me, and at the same time made it so much easier to open up and talk about my deepest and darkest secrets.

The team explained how important it was to show and recognize the most horrible side of myself, the monster that each and every addict has within them, because only then could I learn how to control it...... Not kill it, because addiction cannot be killed. But it can be treated and controlled.

In case it wasn’t clear by now: I would recommend Colin and his team to everyone (addict and non-addicts) because I’m convinced that literally anyone would benefit from having someone speak that open and honest to them. And I am forever grateful for the lessons they’ve taught me about life and about myself. And for helping me to never use drugs again, just for today

My time in Bethesda saved my life. I wandered 30 years in the valley of poly addiction and due to the care, education, inspiration, revelation and love I started to believe in a clean and sober life. I left Bethesda with so much richness, a good home recovery plan and trust to start my new born life. I still here the lessons resonating in my system. I am so grateful that God gave me this change and brought me to Bethesda and saved my life. I wish my Dad could have seen me clean and sober. Thank God my mom does. She got her son back and I me mom. With love from Holland.

Eric van Es

Clean & Sober since 17 Sept 2013

I would highly recommend Bethesda, I stayed for 6 weeks and although it was tough I am very grateful to them. I have visited them after my care and have remained in touch at times since my stay. Great team with an abundance of knowledge in addiction.

I got to Bethesda two days after my last drink. I felt at home immediately I walked through the door. My counsellors were amazing, my roommate was helpful and the other clients received me like on their own. Bethesda runs a programme based on the 12 Steps. I was taught to be part of humanity again. The counsellors treated me with empathy and honesty. I believe having years of recovery themselves helped. Bethesda does not force recovery on you. It makes you want to recover. There were supervised visits to the beach, gym and stores. And the food was lovely. Coming from a country without an active AA or NA community, Bethesda gave me the tools to navigate the early days of sobriety and ensured that I live sober. I still reach out to them till date for counselling. The 56 days in Bethesda saved my life.

A wonderful place with people that care and support Comfortable and clean. The BEST food.

My stay was truly life changing staff put in there all an give you the reason to stand up an fight for your life. They teach you the quality in enjoying going out an having fun clean. Councellers an programs are excellent information on your responsibility very good. Food was amazing really most life changing happy time